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The Aboriginal Flag
The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, an artist and
an Aboriginal, in 1971. The flag was designed to be an eye-catching rallying symbol for the Aboriginal people and a symbol
of their race and identity. The black represents the Aboriginal people, the red the earth and their spiritual relationship
to the land, and the yellow the sun, the giver of life.
In the late 1960s, Aborigines stepped up their campaign for indigenous land rights through protest marches,
demonstrations, banners and posters. The protests increased in the early 1970s and Harold Thomas noticed they were often outnumbered
by non-Aborigines with their own banners and placards. He decided they needed to be more visible and the idea of the flag
was born.
The Aboriginal flag was first raised in Victoria Square in Adelaide on National Aboriginal Day in 1971,
but was adopted nationally by Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in 1972 after it was flown above the Aboriginal "Tent
Embassy" outside of the old Parliament House in Canberra.
The Aboriginal flag is increasingly being flown by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. In view of
its increasing importance in Australian society, the Government initiated steps in 1994 to give the flag legal recognition.
After a period of public consultation, the Government made its own decision in July 1995 that the flag should be proclaimed
a "Flag of Australia" under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953. The flag was so proclaimed by the Governor General of Australia,
William Hayden, on 14 July 1995.
TheEureka Flag
The Eureka Flag was flown for the first time on Bakery Hill, Ballarat, Australia as a symbol of
the resistance of the gold miners during the Eureka Stockade rebellion. Beneath this flag, Peter Lalor, leader of the Ballarat
Reform League, and the aggrieved miners swore this oath:
"We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight
to defend our rights and liberties."
According to the Ballarat Times, at "about eleven o'clock the 'Southern Cross' was hoisted, and
its maiden appearance was a fascinating object to behold.
There is no flag in Europe, or in the civilised world half so
beautiful, and Bakery Hill, as being the place where the Australian ensign was first hoisted, will be recorded in the deathless
and inevitable pages of history.
The flag is silk, blue ground with large silver cross; no device or arms, but all exceedingly
chaste and natural."
The original Eureka Flag (Ballarat Fine Art Museum)The flag, representative of the Southern
Cross which also appears on the official flag of Australia, was designed by Captain Henry Ross, one of Eureka's miners and
a Canadian expatriate.
His flag bears a striking but coincidental resemblance to the Fleurdelisé, Québec's provincial
flag, which was not to appear until nearly a hundred years later.
Only a remnant of the original Eureka Flag remains today,
preserved for public display in Ballarat's Fine Art Museum.
The Eureka Flag, though it has no official status, is used by a variety of groups.
Some
organisations whose goal it is to see Australia move from a monarchy to a republic have proposed the Eureka Flag as Australia's
official flag.
It has also been used as a symbol of rebellion by groups on both sides of the political spectrum, who see
it as representative of the efforts of the miners to free themselves from what they view, depending on their political persuasion,
as either political or economic oppression.
Thus, the flag has draped the coffins of both communists and neo-Nazis.
It
is also often associated with various and collective trade unions, particularly the Builders Labourers' Federation.
The Eureka Flag design is regularly put forward as a candidate to replace the Flag of Australia.
Flags Of Our States And Territories
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| AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY |
Australia's National Anthem
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are
young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea.
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of
beauty rich and rare;
In hist'ry's page, let ev'ry stage
Advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia Fair."
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth
of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With
courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia Fair."
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